Artsakh defense army says number of casualties never concealed

May 30, 2014 - 17:44 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The defense army of the Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic has refuted yet another lie of the Azerbaijani propaganda claiming that the Armenian party “conceals the number of casualties.”

“We always report about the incidents that take place in our army. Hiding data is our rival’s work style, which is applied to avoid public indignation,” the NKR army’s press office said.

An Armenian soldier was killed in Azeri sabotage attempt in the southern direction of the line of contact on the night of May 28. On spotting the rival, the NKR army units acted to repel the attack, with 2 dead and 1 injured on Azeri side. The NKR defense army serviceman, corporal Erik Gasparyan, 19, died in action.

The real number of casualties in the Azeri armed forces is almost twice higher than that mentioned in official statistical data, the NKR army said.

Not to seem proofless, the Karabakh defense army presented the list of the Azerbaijani servicemen who were killed in non-combat incidents, as result of harassment, lack of restraint and corruption.

According to Doctrina Azeri military research, most of deaths in the Azeri army was caused by suicides and injuries inflicted by the soldiers themselves.

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out as result of the ethnic cleansing launched by the Azeri authorities in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 (when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed) to 1994 (when a ceasefire was sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan). Most of Nagorno Karabakh and a security zone consisting of 7 regions are now under control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.